1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to apparatus having independent wheeled sections that are connected to opposite ends of a load to permit shipment by what is known as a Schnabel-type vehicle. The apparatus includes a longitudinal carrier beam that facilitates shipment and storage together with a rocker assembly and lifting link whereby the load may be readily transported to its assembly site and then moved from a horizontal into a vertical position.
2. Description of Prior Art
In apparatus of the type herein defined, a load to be transported is connected at opposite ends thereof to each of the bottom sections of independent cars in the manner shown by U.S. Pat. No. 3,532,061 and 3,744,434. In these patents a heavy load is carried between wheeled railway cars whereby the load itself becomes an integral part of the vehicle that is subjected to massive tensile and compressive forces. Furthermore, the load is entirely unsupported during handling procedures or during shipment on an oceangoing barge so that it is subjected to constant bending forces. Moreover, "upending" and installation procedures are slowed significantly and made more difficult in the usual type apparatus by the absence of auxiliary handling structure.